Florida-Haiti influence ZoeBaby101’s sound

ZoeBaby101 isn’t shy about sharing information about his formative years.

He talked about being raised for a few years in Haiti, and said it was a decision his mom made in order to teach him discipline, but in an interview with “Off the Porch,” he talked about spending his most formative high school years in Broward County, which is one of several counties that make up the metropolitan area of Miami/Dade County, which lies to the south of Fort Lauderdale, where he was born.

The city life has spilled over significantly, creating a Fort Lauderdale that’s similar to Miami, color-saturated and rich with possibility.

ZoeBaby101 is ambition and tenacious when he finds something he loves.

His desire for success – along with this smooth ability to hook up with influential people – has allowed him to continue striving for a record deal while keeping himself off the streets as much as possible.

Haitian influence helps his growth

“When you grow up in a third-world country,” you learn a lot including trading his Creole language for English when his family immigrated “I could cook you a meal with three ingredients and a pot.”

He also knows when a fight is not his to battle.

In an interview, he was asked his relationship with John Wicks, as well as his feelings about Wick’s brother, Kodak Black, who was having an apparent beef with what sounded like his record label, but could have been anyone given his lengthy arrest history, but ZoeBaby101 shut the interviewer down, and reminded everyone in the room that he was there for the music, not petty arguments.

The temptation is real

He wants nothing to distract him from his long game.

“It’s chess, not checkers, and I have to have all my pieces in place,” he said in an interview with Beezy TV last year.

“Another day, just like any other city, you’ve got to do what you’ve gotta do and stay out of the way,” ZoeBaby101 added in another interview, this one with Off the Porch.

From the east side of Fort Lauderdale, ZoeBaby101 might have stayed in the streets, he remains able to know which gang is member is affiliated with based on certain tells, but he saw a better, more preferrable, path.

“Once you reach a certain level, you’ve got to get out,” he said.

Haitian culture infiltrates his music

There’s a huge Haitian culture in Florida, and in Broward County, the second-largest group of immigrants is Haitian, only behind Cuba, and elementary schools began teaching lessons about Haitian culture, ensuring that ZoeBaby101 was able to embrace both his island past, a time when the Haitian population was much smaller, and his present.

“It’s big, back then it wasn’t cool, but nowadays it’s the shit. Everybody is Haitian, or everybody want to be with a Haitian, you know. The tables turned.”

As more Haitians took up residence in Florida, they gained power by seeking elected positions, and the culture has taken root in neighborhoods, shops and restaurants, making it more familiar.

High school was pivotal

“I got into music in high school,” he said. “One of the dope boys from the hood that I used to look up to was like a neighborhood star.”

“Also, watching my big cuz early on had me into music. During those times when I’m creating, music was one thing, but the streets had the last say, I would say.”

ZoeBaby101 absolutely saw the hip-hop community as a way to establish a better life, and he tested the waters to see if his personality, his charisma, translated to music.

It turns out that it did.

“I started writing and I did my first track in high school,” he said.

But he also took cues from those who went before him to learn any skills he hadn’t picked up during his time in the streets.

The indy artist can be heard all over the internet, and on Instagram.